Little Richard Dead at 87

Music icon Little Richard (Richard Penniman) has passed away. He was 87.

The rock legend passed away on Saturday morning (May 9), Pastor Bill Minson told AP. Minson, a close friend of Little Richard, said he spoke to both the artist's son and brother. He also relayed that the cause of death is unknown.

In 2016, funk musician Bootsy Collins shared on Facebook that his friend Little Richard was not healthy.

"He is not in the best of health so I ask all the Funkateers to lift him up," he wrote.

Over his career, Little Richard sold over 30 million records and was dubbed the "father of rock" by many. He was best known for his hits "Tutti Frutti" and "Good Golly Miss Molly." Both the Beatles and Prince covered his songs.

In 1986, Little Richard was included within the inaugural class of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees along with Elvis Presley, Sam Cooke, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis.